I have a Marvell 88E8059 NIC and I would like to be able to install ESXi 5.1 . I have tried incorporating new versions of the sky2 driver on an ISO with no success. I have noticed that it is supported in kernel 2.6.32, using version 1.25 of the sky2 driver:

Any chance for an updated download of this driver, that I can try to integrate onto 5.1? Please?

Thanks for reading, cheers.

Mon Apr 15, 2013 11:10 pm

Sardaukar

Joined: Mon Apr 15, 2013 3:30 pmPosts: 6

Re: Existing driver update

Well, I've setup a build environment, and tried giving it a go by adding the patches manually. I have a module that finishes building, but I tried making a VIB out of it and it just makes the installer reboot after loading all files :/

If anyone can properly test loading this kernel module in a running ESXi server and give me feedback, I would appreciate it so I can try to know what I'm doing wrong.

I'm using the VMware source for sky2 as a base, and applying Linux patches to it. Now, the VMWare one is based on (I think) the Linux sky2 driver, circa 1.20. And support for the 8059 NIC seems easy enough to add, a couple of patches with mostly extra PHY reset calls and the usual adding of extra chip IDs to structs and so on. However, I can't find a definitive authority on driver versions, I've seen so far *parts* of 1.20, 1.22, 1.23, 1.28 and 1.30. BUT I wanted to be as close to the VMware one as possible, so I'm looking for early (around 1.21) versions of the driver to add 8059 support.

I managed to compile it, and I can send you the source and a diff to what I reached and the VMware original. But it just makes the ESXi installer *reboot* after finishing loading all .V00 and .S00 files on stage 1 of the install :/

Thanks again for any help anyone can bring.

Wed Apr 17, 2013 12:57 am

Dave.Mishchenko

Site Admin

Joined: Mon Mar 16, 2009 10:13 pmPosts: 3880

Re: Existing driver update

Pass me the VIB file and I can see if it'll install OK with a working system.

One option would be try and load just the compiled module in to a running kernel, that way you're avoiding potential problems with your .vib files. I posted a message in the tips and tricks forum with a rough set of instructions for doing this. You basically boot a standard unmodified ISO on your target host and call up your new module from a FAT16 formatted flash drive. That's what I did (tens if not hundreds of times) when I had no host I could get ESXI working on until my NIC was supported.

Sat Apr 20, 2013 5:44 pm

Sardaukar

Joined: Mon Apr 15, 2013 3:30 pmPosts: 6

Re: Existing driver update

Thanks for the tip! But I just gave up and got a Realtek PciE NIC for 12€ and it works now (not for ESXi 5.1, though lol). VMware could do with a less quirky approach to NIC support...

Thanks for everyone's time!

Sun Apr 21, 2013 11:46 pm

Maggehagge

Joined: Thu Jul 17, 2014 4:30 amPosts: 4

Re: Existing driver update

Hello! I also need help with this nic. I already made a new topic but i think it would be a good idea to write here also.

i just need to get the marvell 88E8059 working. wont matter if i can get it working during install or after

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